Cost of mini lathes

[Guy RobinsonParticipant @guyrobinson27287]

How much does a basic mini lathe cost to buy? Is there a second hand market or not?

[Guy RobinsonParticipant @guyrobinson27287]

Beginner

[Bob StevensonParticipant @bobstevenson13909]

This depends entirely on how you define the phrase "basic mini-lathe" and what is "basic" to you….for a start the mini-lathe has seen steady upgrading during the last few decades, so "basic" has been upwardly mobile, as it were…….

 

The 'basic' mini-lathe stated off as the 7×10…inches, in American parlance, although it was only about 8 inches between centres. That machine had a very basic and low powered motor and you could buy one new for about £200 new. Since then everything has got bigger, (apart from centre height ) including the price.

 

If you click on Warco's site advert to your right you can find their latest Mini-lathe incarnation which is now about 14 inches between centres and a quid under £600……

 

Bear in mind with most mini-lathe packages that only one chuck and few accessories are included……when you add the 4-jaw and a couple of steadies the price can easily reach that of a much better designed and made machine such as a WM180, which comes with all that stuff as standard.

 

For seconhand;…..be sure of the great list of changing specs over the years and keep looking….mini-lathes turn up in surprising places out of the blue so you need to be ready to pounce for a good buy. One of the many good things about mini-lathes si that they are used by all sorts of folk not just model engineering types so lots of sheds and basements 'out there' have mini-lathes….just keep your eyes peeled!…Good Luck!

 

Edit;……I loved my mini-lathe which got me back into 'making' and which I used for 10 years.  However, last September I changed to a WM180 and this last year has highlighted how much better a better made and designed machine is to use……..

Edited By Bob Stevenson on 09/09/2018 14:16:44

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

You can buy a used machine, or a new one.

Depending on which mini lathe you choose, The importer will include different items in the package. One may include 3 and 4 Chucks, whilst another importer may only include a 3 jaw. Another importer may include steadies, or a drill chuck and centres in the package.

Some may still offer brushed motors (and of varying powers) whilst others may have the newer brushless motors.

A used machine may no longer have all the items with which it came when new.

(My secondhand mini lathe came without the spanners and Allen Keys, but did have a brand new 4 jaw chuck, a Steady, a set of cutting tools, and the manual, as part of the deal).

Afterthought:

Ensure that all the change wheels are there, and undamaged if they are plastic!  You can buy replacements for any damaged or missing ones, but take into account the likely cost when negotiating the price.

If buying a secondhand machine, do check its condition and see it in operation. Since they are variable speed, it is not unknown to damage the control boards by incorrect operation. The manual is important. Incorrect operation can ruin the control board, which can be pricey to replace!

Check the specification and package on offer as well as the price!

Howard

Edited By Howard Lewis on 09/09/2018 14:47:18

[Carl Wilson 4Participant @carlwilson4]

They cost a lot. Because you will soon realise it’s limitations and need to buy a proper one.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Carl Wilson 4 on 09/09/2018 15:25:05:
They cost a lot. Because you will soon realise it's limitations and need to buy a proper one.

True!

I had to get another lathe after 18 years because I got fed up waiting for the mini lathe to wear out…

Neil

(Edit – in all seriousness, if you are worried about the limitations of long bed brushless motor mini lathe, don't buy a Myford Super 7 because aside from the gap bed on the latter their actual capabilities are pretty much the same).

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 09/09/2018 16:42:46

[Carl Wilson 4Participant @carlwilson4]

Joking aside, it just depends what you want to do. They can be of very variable quality. A friend of mine bought one and it was junk. Then my uncle bought one fir Model Railway use and it was OK.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

With the 20% or so price increases from the far eastern factories you will soon be able to sell a secondhand mini-lathe at a profit so may not be such a bad thing to move it on

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The serious point is that there are probably more Mini Lathes out there than any other design of lathe that's ever been made.

Yes there are some rogue machines (and certainly some rouge sources of machines), but they in the last twenty years they have surely enabled a huge number of people to get into engineering as a hobby who thought they ahd neither the funds nor the space to do so.

I'm one of them, as a teenager I would have loved a lathe but never imagined ever owning one. A mini-lathe (with several shortcomings compared to the best current offerings) let me do this and in the end it literally helped set my life in a new direction.

That's why I'm such a staunch defender of these machines.

Neil

[Michael Cox 1Participant @michaelcox1]

A new machine can cost anywhere between £400 and £600.

Used ones occaisionjally come up in the ads section of this site and on ebay.

[Carl Wilson 4Participant @carlwilson4]

Agreed Re the capacity of these machines to open up the world of hobby engineering. As a teen I was besotted with engineering and lathes. I’d have killed for one of those mini lathes back in the 80s.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

BTW, there seems to be a flatbed Drummond(?) up for grabs on homeworkshop ATM – "Small lathe and pillar drill" 25 quid near Doncaster.

Murray

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Posted by Bill Phinn on 09/09/2018 20:07:19:

Posted by Guy Robinson on 09/09/2018 13:52:05:
Is there a second hand market or not?

It's hard to tell what your primary motivation for asking this is: saving money over a new one or getting a decent price when/if you sell it on.

Anyway, minilathes are fairly freely available secondhand; just bear in mind that you're unlikely to get any kind of warranty that comes close to the warranty on a new machine in terms of the protection it offers you. Of course, if you're adept at fault diagnosis and the repair of lathes, then it's not such a big problem, but in all likelihood if you were adept you'd have a lathe already or at least some experience with one and not be too badly placed to sort out any snags.

On a slightly off-topic note, this is one of the major drawbacks that proponents of buying older British-made lathes rather than new import lathes tend to forget: that whereas they themselves have the wherewithal and the equipment (or know someone who does) to sort out most faults they might encounter with a secondhand lathe, many people looking for a lathe are not so fortunately placed, though they might well be when they come to buy their second lathe, if they ever do.

 

Edited By Bill Phinn on 09/09/2018 20:10:17

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